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Robin was scared to death. Her nine-year-old son was threatening to kill himself and having
difficulties in school. Recently divorced, the woman recognized that her son had hit a rough spot
in their family's transition.
"First thing I had to do was call somebody," she says. As a college student, she had the
opportunity to ask her psychology professor, also a counselor, for direction. "He gave me the
number for Family Life Services."
When Robin called the Diakon program, the response was immediate. "Their concern and their urgency
were what I appreciated the most," she says. "It wasn't shoved aside. They didn't say, 'See you in
a couple of months.'"
The mother and son had had a previous experience with a counselor that didn't work out. "My son
wasn't comfortable. He wouldn't say anything--he had no involvement whatsoever," she says, adding
that it was different with the Family Life Services counselor.
"It was the atmosphere. His office was in his home, not in a large office building. And it
wasn't, 'The clock's ticking, your time's up.' The counselor was personable and he got the family
involved. He helped my son be more comfortable."
He also helped the boy to deal with his anger. "My son's attitude completely changed," she
says. "You could see him using the things he was taught to control his anger. He would stop and
think to himself, 'Is this worth it? Maybe I should walk away.'"
After four months of meeting with the counselor two times a week, both Robin and her son, who had
gotten to the point he enjoyed the sessions, believed they had come a long way. "He said to me,
'Mom, I don't think I have to go anymore. I think I'm okay with it,'" she remembers. "It definitely
took a load off my shoulders that my son was okay."
Now nearly a year after completing counseling, Robin says her son is a comfortable, fun-loving
nine-year-old.
"My son's back," she says. "He is the kid he used to be."
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